DIY Halloween Roundup!

Even though we’ve had a bit of an Indian summer the last few days here in Boston, I can’t help thinking ahead to my first post-college Halloween.  I’m eagerly looking forward to crunchy leaves, more pumpkin lattes, searching for a fun costume, and hopefully a trip or two to Salem!

To get into the spirit of all things Halloween-y, here are some of my favorite DIY projects that I’ve come across lately. If you have a project to add, link up in the comments!

For spooky glassware, How About Orange has a great tutorial on using packing tape to make image transfers!

Keeping with the spooky theme, check out these Eat At Your Own Risk toppers via Etsy:

All Things Thrifty has a Woman’s Day Mag-inspired Candy Corn Wreath:

If the idea of gluing all those candy corns is too much for you (or for more wreathy inspiration), there’s a similar version on Etsy:

My Paper Crane has a tutorial and template for adorable felt ghost cozies, which you could also string up into a garland or hang from doorknobs too!

Calamity Anne has a fun tutorial on redoing an old clock to give it a Halloween feel… trip to Goodwill or Ikea for clocks, anyone?

My friend Daniela from Berkeley has a great shop, The Art Life, where she’s selling a kit to make your own mini-chipboard Halloween album, complete with embellishments and papers… and it’s on sale! Also, check out the rest of her shop– great stuff!

If you love pumpkins but not the mess of carving them, Calamity Anne also has a tutorial on painting decorative pumpkins:

At The Crafty Cupboard, Melanie has an easy-to-follow tutorial for this wonderful & inexpensive spiderweb table runner:

Yet another project from Brooke at All Things Thrifty: an easy and temporary way to “trick” out your existing decor! (Yes, I love her stuff!)

Last but certainly not least, Boston-based Papercrave has a tutorial and printables for a lovely paper garland. For fun variations on this, you can alternate the cutouts with candy corn, add some glitter, sub printed halloween paper, or string it on colored ribbon!

Project Porn!

Holy Batman, it’s already September! That means the beginning of fall (in theory, anyways), Labor Day sales, and oh ya– my birthday! I’m also starting a new part-time gig on Friday, so keep an eye out for a post on that. In the meantime, I’ve been working on my own DIY’s and finding some pretty kickass projects (and potential projects) around the interwebs.

it's getting there!

• I got bored with Sharpie-ing my wall art, so I decided to put a touch of acrylic paint on the board and see how it would look.  Heinous cellphone picture aside, I think it’s gonna look really great when it’s done. Going to be adding orange and a limey green to it as well!
• This post, from ReadyMade, reminds me of back-to-school shopping and getting a brand new box of Crayolas… except far more expensive.
• Saw this mirror from Urban Outfitters… totally reminiscent of the bag with the chicken feet skin (uh, wtf?) on last night’s Rachel Zoe Project. Except it won’t make PETA go after you.
• Urban also has an “essential bathroom organizer,” which at almost $30, is so not essential for me.  Diy-ing it with some different lengths/widths of PVC pipe, some spraypaint, and hot glue/gorilla glue? Much better!
• Oh, and have I mentioned Urban Outfitters? Spent a lot of time on their site today, oops. Their key rug, at $18 for a 2×3 rug, is adorable but again pricey.  My solution? El cheapo rug from Ikea, of course, pattern with freezer paper or contact paper, and black acrylic paint. Et voila!
• Last but not least, I saw the following picture on Design Porn and literally started laughing my ass off. Enjoy it, kids:

Yup, that's taxidermy beer coolers...

I don’t want to know what liking that says about me…

Project updates

Just a quick little photo update on the projects I started last night– the inspiration board (which I need to get a staplegun to fix the boards to the frame better), and then an art piece that I began, inspired by a pic from the CB2 catalogue. They’re crap quality, but you get the point!

Inspired by this:

from CB2... but at $200, out of my budget!

and the inspiration board (… gotta get inspired!)

another work in progress...

I survived a drive…(plus crafty goodness)

…in Boston! I am VERY VERY proud of myself.  Although I have to say, being in a Prius makes the drive pretty damn nice.

Here’s a pic from when I was stopped on the bridge (woo traffic!)

Action shot! (well, not really)

On the way home, what did I see but the Dollar Store near Lechmere that I’d discovered my first weekend here? Of course, I had to stop. I found these ADORABLE mugs when I walked in:

So cute! Ignore the lack of a mani...

Yes, I have 5-year old hands. That being said, I had to buy these mugs, since the dishes I have right now are the original 70′s Corelle print…quite vintage, not quite me.  Then I found white square ceramic plates and black soup bowls that will look awesome with the mugs. I’m hoping to use a ceramic pen to decorate the plates like these adorable monogrammed ones from Lemon Tree Creations!

Also got some spongebob hooks that I’ll be modpodge-ing over to use as coat hooks in my kitchen/entryway (stealing this idea from Dollar Store crafts!), some nyc color makeup (woot!), diet mtn. dew (cue addiction), jiffy biscuit mix for when I need comfort food, spices for $1!, and my most exciting purchase, foam core to make my inspiration board.

About the inspiration board, I LOVEEEE the looks that people have been doing lately– check out this one from Made by Girl, so cute!– so when I saw a huge gilded frame at a garage sale for $5 when I moved here, I had to snag it. It’s been sitting on the wall above my desk empty for 2 months now, waiting for me to find foam core or cork and fill it up. I’d been hesitating, because foam core can run $4/piece and I need at least 3, and cork is just plain pricey at stores like CVS/Target. But when I found the sheets for $1 today, I splurged and bought 4!

Will post pics of everything when it’s done, keep your eyes peeled!

What Weekend Warrior projects are you working on?

Miss Artimated (Martha) and I are loving the mypapercrane fabrics and dreaming up dresses to make, too!

Cheer up, chuck!

Time for bluntness: I.feel.like.ass.

How’s that for honesty? It might be exhaustion from my first week of real 9-5, it might be from missing my BlogHer babes, or it might just be the awesomeness that is my regular emotional state of being.

Just thought y’all should know.

On that side, here are some links that I’m loving and will hopefully bring a smile to both my face and yours:

• Cats in Hats- I <3 Color me Katie. A lot.
• Buddha Pears… wtf?? (via Hip Hostess)

• 

  Seriously, those are buddha-shaped PEARS.

• These wedges from ModCloth… OMGLOVE

Academic Path Wedges from ModCloth

• Sexy (although slightly fishy) bookends from Bookshelf Porn
• Gorgeous illustrations (hmm, livingroom art?)
• Adorable rose-colored platform wedges from PlasticLand. Would buy em in a heartbeat if I didn’t have to walk up and down crazy driveways for work!

What would make me happiest right now? A little cookie dough, Project Runway in 8 minutes, hearing from one of my BlogHer girls… and then sleep, glorious sleep!

Article aggregation!

Big word, huh? Basically, just giving all my awesometastic loyal readers (hi, mom, dad, and jillian!) linkage to all of my external posts from the last week or two. I know, you were just dying to read more snark from me.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Easy Party Invitations

5 Thrifty Things: Make Smartphones Smarter

and this week’s coup de grace…

Bespoke on a Budget: DIY and Crowdsourced Clothing

oh, and if you missed it…

Schadenfreude in Social Media?

Social Media Business Card Numero Uno!

DRUMROLL, PLEASE

…

Only spent an hour or two on this but I like it!

Business card PS “action” from Stephen Elliot

Icons from Janko at Warp Speed

Background pattern from Kitten Bella @Deviant Art

Blue skies, all of them gone…

Today is a gorgeous day out here in the Bay Area, but of course I’m stuck writing my theses (10 pages down, 35ish to go!). First off, HAPPY PI DAY to all my fellow nerds out there Definitely considering getting pie later. Secondly, I wanted to do a quick feature on some of the blogs that I follow religiously… here goes!

Hostess with the Mostess

An image from one of Jen's St. Patty's Day posts. Yum!

This is Jen Sbranti’s site of everything beautiful, cute, whimsical, and party-related. I adore it. If publishing doesn’t work out, I want to go into party planning. She posts the greatest pictures, recipes, inspirations, you name it! Her site makes me want to get rich, just so I can host adorable parties like the ones she features!

Academichic

I loveeee this outfit. Plus, it has a DIY mini-tut for the sweater! (from Academichic.com)

Academichic is a wonderful blog run by three ridiculously stylish PhD candidates. When I first saw the site, I literally emailed the link to my mom with the message “Can I buy all of these outfits when I graduate?” Their fashion sense is spot-on, and is definitely going to serve as the inspiration for some of my new post-college work outfits!

Tiny-Ass Apartment

Be still my beating heart. Only way this could be better is if it had more books! (from TAA)

Admittedly, the name hooked me. Feisty but practical, no? Anyways, this site has great tips and inspiration for, well, tiny-ass apartments (much like the one that I’m living in now). Hoping to be able to use some of these great ideas when I get settled in my new place come June. Also, she’s got some great links for local places like flea markets, etc!

I guess that’s enough procrastination for now… enjoy the linkage!

blood donation fail

Today, I was walking on Sproul after I picked up lunch and noticed they were having a blood drive. I’ve never donated before; I used to weigh too little in high school (miss those days!) and then in college I’ve gotten piercings and tattoos so I was always in that 12-month post body mod period where you’re not supposed to donate. Anyways, I decided to donate blood today.

I walk upstairs to the Pauley Ballroom where they’re doing the drive. I get my sticker, fill out my form (some of those questions were a little strange) and sit down to wait for the intake sesh. As I’m sitting, I feel a little queasy because I can see all the people who are getting their blood drawn, but nothing too serious.

Now, this is probably the time that I should mention that, although I have 9 piercings and 2 tattoos, I am terrible with needles. If i see them, I pass out. Same goes for blood, most of the time.  I take after my dad in that respect, and trust me, it’s not pretty.

my first tattoo (after the touchup)

tattoo 2, done by Mike @ Industrial in Berkeley (only took 3.5 hours!)

Moving on with the story. I finally get called up to the intake nurse. She asks me what my weight, height, allergies, etc. etc. are. She makes small talk as she takes my temp and my pulse, and then she does the little finger prick thing to test my iron levels. Now, it doesn’t hurt at all. I mean, it’s a little pinch, like if you pinched your finger in a drawer or something minor like that. But something about that, knowing I was about to be hooked up to an IV for 10 minutes, finally gets to me.

I look at the nurse and go, “I need to put my head down.” She looks at me quizzically, looks at the iron count machine, and goes “your iron level is fine…” but I must have gotten very pale because she goes ok, “I’m gonna pick up your stuff, you follow me.”

So I get up, and she grabs my 3 bags (oops), and one of my arms, and calls to one of the nurses to help get me to a chair. The last thing I remember clearly is breaking into a cold sweat and then all of a sudden they’re lifting me up into this pseudo-recliner and burying me in cold compresses.

I anticipated passing out once I started the blood draw, but this was just ridiculous. I actually asked them, once I was feeling better, if I could donate blood then… figured I’d already passed out, might as well go through with it! (They said no.)

So lessons learned today- I’m not anemic, don’t bring so many bags with you to a blood drive–just in case, and I am one of those people who’s just not meant to donate blood. Luckily, I think I have one of the more common blood types, so it’s not so bad. I just hope I’m not like my dad, who passed out when he and my mom got the blood test for their marriage license… that didn’t bode well!

In other news, applying to publishing jobs in Boston, New York, San Diego, LA and SF. It’s terrifying, but necessary. Working with Ariane Doud, Patrick’s wife, for PR for The Hunt for the Eye of Ogin, so here’s to hoping that’s a productive work connection!

Also, I finished the first 10 (!) pages of my first thesis (30-35 pages total), and my second thesis/research paper is in the research still, but at least I’ve got a topic.

Oh, and to the 2 people that read this, visit knockoffwood.blogspot.com, will ya? She has an AMAZING blog that I’ve been following, where she makes her own original plans inspired by furniture that costs HUNDREDS/THOUSANDS from companies like Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Teen, etc. What she does is incredible, and Williams Sonoma (booo) has decided to send her a cease & desist notice, because she references their names/pictures. I’m sorry, but if people are going out of their way to MAKE this furniture, they weren’t going to pay 10x the cost to buy it in the first place, so it’s ridiculous that they think it would harm them. If anything, this whole thing will help HER to increase her blog traffic. So yeah, check it out. Maybe you’ll be inspired!

And to finish it up with a fun graduation quote: At commencement you wear your square-shaped mortarboards. My hope is that from time to time you will let your minds be bold, and wear sombreros.
Paul Freund

diy polyhedron lamp

This appeals to both the craft fiend and the supernerd in me, as it uses geometry and diy skills to make this really great lamp. Best part is, it’s totally customizable. This site sells kits that you can use for it, and this instructables guide shows you how to do it yourself!